Serious Discussion-Stress and Psych Disorders — Page 3

Yes, I think he was writing those stories as much for himself as for anyone else, and maybe that's why they're his most enduring achievement.

Even though I was a lit major, poetry never touched me the way that fiction does. Who's your favorite?

I think Addy has touched on the next Serious Discussion Topic...

Though my knowledge on American poetry is severly limited as well. I should brush up on some of it. And I had my Latino poesia craze a few years ago...

As a wrapup on my take on previous discussion:

One of my ancestors in Massachusetts in the 16 or 1700s was publicly admonished by the town fathers for having shaken hands with, and spoken to, a passing Quaker.

Dickens and Hawthorne go on and on really too much for me. Never-ending pages of paragraphs to describe a desk, for example.

Loved the Narnia books of C.S.Lewis. Tried to read The Hobbit three times and gave up, too many names, too dull, but loved The Lord of the Rings movies.

I agree that a separate poet thread would be a nice addition to the board. (anyone surprised?)

On to other literary items:

I really like Mark Twain and have read most of his works. Also like bare bones Hemingway. William Faulkner was my favorite modern author for a long time and may still be.

Older works I go for are Milton, Shakespeare and the King James Bible with their "heightened sense of speech." After I read some Milton I think and write more eloquently, he's lofty stuff. And I see the influence of that kind of speech in the writings of the early colonial American settlers who were very religious, educated and wrote very well in just their daily life writings. Letters were big back then.

Recent reads I've liked have been The English Patient and Seabiscuit. And The White Moghals by William Dalrymple about the early English settlers to India during the last of the Moghal Empire who were often highly educated civil servants and who intermarried with the local Hindu and Muslim women, even converting their religion, before the British/East India Company Army eventually moved in and established itself and went gung-ho military conquest.

I'm also still stuck in the Revolutionary War in the history book Gotham about NYC. It's HUGE.

Have a new book I haven't started yet, Inamorata by Gangemi, don't tell me about it if you've read it....

A Grief Observed is one of the finest pieces of writing on one of the most painful of topics. It contains two sentences on the experience of losing a loved one that seem to resonate in so many situations. He says after his wife's death:

"The pain now is part of the happiness then. That is the deal."

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Updated On: 1/20/06 at 12:15 AM

Thanks, kissmycookie.

Any discussion about myth leads to Joseph Campbell and The Hero With a Thousand Faces which has certainly had a vast influence on American artists. He has certainly well mapped-out the sequence of the myth for others to build upon and follow...

there was a Barnes and Noble right by our meeting place,

Did you go to Chipotle and Smoochies?

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A possibility for discussion – The Arts and Crafts Movement.

This began in the late 1800’s as a reaction to the explosion of the Industrial Age. William Morris (he of the famous fabric and paper designs) is basically considered the Grandfather of the movement. There was a feeling that something very important was being lost as we ran headfirst into the manufacturing of machine-made goods.

The Victorian Era is marked by an abundance of overly ornate architecture and household items, simply because people were so enthralled at how cheaply they could be acquired. There were those, however, who felt that quantity and quality were two different things. Not to mention the imprint of the spirit of the creator that was lost in the machining process.

SO, this movement, begun in England and spread to America, eventually made its imprint in many areas – architecture, furniture, textiles, and even writing and philosophy. It was marked by a dedication to making things by hand, allowing for uniqueness and art in the creation – with a real focus on the impact of nature on our lives.

As we have stumbled into the burgeoning Technological/Information Age, I’ve wondered if (hoped?) we would see a resurgence of this philosophy.

Hehe - like anything, bway, band-wagons can lead to interesting things.

I get perhaps a slightly skewed vision here in California, because the Movement in the early 1900's was very strong here - so there's quite a bit to pull from for people who lean in that direction.

Disney even chose to use the California version of the Movement to inform its latest big hotel at the resort in Anaheim, which has led to conventions and wider awareness.

ok, now that there's some issues that we can raise about this, I'll officially change the title of the thread to "the Arts and Crafts Movement"

Addy - it is an interesting connection. I would say that, while the ideas that Walt had were based in imagination and fantasy, the actual creation of things was very grounded in the movement. From his studios to the original park, many craftsman and artists were brought in to make real what he envisioned. That really was paramount in the building of the Grand Californian (the hotel I mentioned earlier.) There are touches all the way through of crafts and arts that once were thought to be moving toward extinction - everything from rugs (both the designs and creation) to archetectural ornamentation. And much of it hand-crafted by artisans selected from through-out the world.

Beyond the aesthetics of that period, which I really resonate with (Tiffany glass, Stickley furniture, Green & Green or Wright archetecture) I'm mostly drawn to the philosphies behind it all. I get scared by how far human civilization has moved away from its connection with nature. And I see the inherrent 'fear of death' manifest itself in attempts to get the most and get it the fastest way possible - which I think misses the whole point of existence.

There's an understanding in the Movement that it's not the getting that counts, it's the doing.

There's a place around the East Aurora area in New York called Roycroft that I've always wanted to visit. It was established by Elbert Hubbard as an Arts and Crafts community., and the people who lived there became known as Roycrofters. There's even still a publishing house that uses the name, I believe.